For centuries, books have been used to store information. While books have proven reliable for storing information, such as text and pictures, for long periods of time, books can be damaged through use. Damage to books through use, through actions such as opening the book, closing the book, and turning pages of the book, may be especially pronounced for old books and books with a large number of pages.
FIG. 1 illustrates a book 100 opened on a horizontal surface 110. When book 110 is opened on horizontal surface 120, a front cover 130 and a back cover 140 of book 110 may rest on horizontal surface 120. Opening book 100 such that front cover 130 and back cover 140 rest on horizontal surface 120 may be referred to as opening book 100 to 180°. Having book 100 in such position may place a significant amount of stress on bookbinding 150 (also referred to as the book's binding). If book 100 is old and/or contains a large number of pages, the stress placed on bookbinding 150 by opening book 100 to 180° may be sufficient to permanently damage book 100.
Besides potentially damaging the book, opening the book to 180° may be prohibited by the book's owner. For example, some archives and libraries may not permit rare, old, fragile, and/or special collection books to be opened to such a position due to the risk of damage to the bookbinding.